Donald Trump Photo: Mark Schiefelbein / AP / Profimedia
American President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he does not intend to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin until he considers that there is an agreement to ensure peace between Russia and Ukraine, reports Reuters, taken by Agerpres.
“You have to know we're going to make a deal, I'm not going to waste my time,” Trump told reporters in Doha.
Trump met with Qatar's emir and prime minister on board his plane on Saturday to discuss the fragile truce in the Gaza Strip during a stopover in Doha on his way to Malaysia.
The American president also declared that efforts to stabilize the Gaza Strip are progressing and that an international force will be deployed soon. “It should be a lasting peace,” Trump told reporters when asked about the situation in Gaza.
He said Qatar would be willing to contribute peacekeeping troops if needed and praised the Gulf state, which he called an important ally and a key player in regional stability.
Disclosure: The Trump administration has prepared an arsenal of sanctions to hit key areas of Russia's economy. But first, they are waiting for something from the Europeans
Message from the White House
The White House assured on Thursday that a new summit between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is not out of the question, but warned that the US president “wants to see action, not just talk” from Putin for a ceasefire in Ukraine.
“A meeting between the two leaders is not completely out of the question. I think the president (Trump) and the entire administration hope that one day this can happen again, but we want to make sure that there is a tangible positive outcome from this meeting and that it is not a waste of time for the president,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt explained at a news conference.
“To negotiate a good peace agreement, both sides have to be interested,” but the US president “has not recently seen enough interest from Russia to take steps to move toward peace,” which is why the White House leader on Wednesday decided on sanctions against Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil, the spokeswoman continued.
“The president wants to see action, not just talk. And I think the president is very motivated by the success of his Middle East peace deal to get results and he wants this war to end. He's been saying that for nine months in office, and he's increasingly unhappy with the lack of progress on both sides of this war,” Karoline Leavitt pointed out.
